Investigators in California on Sunday were trying to determine what caused a police helicopter to slam into Newport Bay, killing one police officer and critically injuring another.
A helicopter crashed Saturday into the ocean waters off Miami Beach, plummeting a few feet away from swimmers in a crowded stretch popular among tourists, officials said. One officer was killed, another was critically injured.Investigators in California on Sunday were trying to determine what caused a police helicopter to slam into Newport Bay, killing one police officer and critically injuring another.not far from beachgoers in Miami Beach, injuring two people aboard the chopper.
In California, Huntington Beach Police Chief Eric Parra said the helicopter was responding to reports of a disturbance on the beach Saturday at about 6:30 pm local time. Officer Nicholas Vella, 44, a 14-year department veteran and married father of one daughter, died in the crash, Parra said. "The Huntington Beach Police Department and the law enforcement community have lost an officer who was truly dedicated to his job, that was doing what he loved doing,” Parra said. The Federal Aviation Administration, in an email to USA TODAY, said it was investigating the crash along with the National Transportation Safety Board. The FAA identified the helicopter as a McDonnell Douglas 500N. Parra said the department's helicopters undergo regularly scheduled maintenance.
"I don't know what occurred, but we are going to pull those in, they won't fly until we do the inspection," he said."It's a dangerous occupation. Flying is dangerous. Law enforcement is extremely dangerous. You can't account for every issue.""It was directly above us spinning out of control ... crashed less than 150 feet from our boat ... still shaken up from what we just saw..
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